Physicians group details health hazards from coal

View full sizeBrent Wojahn/The OregonianThe coal pile and the pipes that bring it into the building where the burner is housed, at the Boardman Coal Plant which produces electricity from coal mined in Wyoming. A new report from the advocacy group Physicians for Social Responsibility seeks to highlight the potential human health risks from coal-fired power plants, the world's largest source of electricity.

"Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases,"